


Sakura Mountain

by TheEigthPillarGeneral



Series: Black Moon [8]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, M/M, Slow Romance, Songwriting, Visual Kei, costume porn, music industry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-26 21:55:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14411343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEigthPillarGeneral/pseuds/TheEigthPillarGeneral
Summary: Renji and the band travel to Yoshino, Nara, to film 'Momoiro no Hana'. Byakuya accompanies them and finds his creativeness rekindled as he observes his surroundings and the filming of the music video.





	Sakura Mountain

**Author's Note:**

  * For [junko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/junko/gifts), [Josey (cestus)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cestus/gifts).



> Our boys slowly get a little closer here~ Enjoy!

Renji had never woken up this early for travel. Then again, the last time he’d traveled was on a field trip to Nara in middle school and since then, he’d rarely done much travelling. And when he did, he never had to get up at such an early hour in the morning. But such was the life of a musician; waking up at ungodly hours for photoshoots, music videos, concerts, what-have-you.

Dressed in jeans and an X Japan T-shirt underneath his leather jacket, Renji carried a backpack, duffel bag, and his guitar as he arrived at the Tokyo Train Station. He headed over to the ticket office where he saw Yoruichi, Kyoraku, Hitsugaya, Ishida, and Byakuya waiting with their luggage.

“Morning!” Kyoraku greeted as Renji neared.

Renji nodded. “Mornin’,” he said.

“You ready to go?” Yoruichi asked.

“Yeah,” Renji said. “Where’s everyone else?”

“Ichigo just texted,” Hitsugaya said. “He’s on his way. Chad is driving him and Hisagi.” He promptly went back to his phone, checking the weather. “It’s supposed to be a little warm in Yoshino today.”

“That’s a relief,” Ishida said.

Today was their trip to Yoshino for filming ‘Momoiro no Hana’ and the subsequent photoshoot afterwards, just as they’d done with their last two music videos. As such, they’d had to wake up early in order to take the rather-long shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Yoshino. First, they were taking the Tokaido Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto Station, which would be a little over two hours long. Then after that, they’d have to take a train from the Kyoto Kintetsu station to Kashihara Jingumae Station in Kashihara, Nara, and then switch to the Kintetsu Yoshino Line for Yoshino Station.

It was going to be a long day, but Renji had to admit, he was looking forward to travelling. He hadn’t gone on a shinkansen in a long time. And he was eager to see Mount Yoshino and the sakura trees; they were said to be so beautiful. Not to mention, this Kuchiki property they would be filming in sounded pretty cool.

Speaking of which…

Byakuya was texting someone right now, looking as impeccable as ever despite the fact that they were going to be travelling the whole day. Again, he seemed to be one of those people who looked perfect no matter what situation they were in.

As if on cue, Ichigo, Hisagi, and Chad showed up with their luggage and instruments. Renji smiled. “It’s about time you showed up, we almost left without you,” he joked.

“Shut up, it’s too early for this,” Ichigo retorted half-heartedly.

“Well, now that everyone has shown up, let’s get going,” Yoruichi encouraged.

After passing through the first ticket gate, they headed to the shinkansen platforms before passing through the second gate. They then headed to the platform for the Tokaido Shinkansen to Kyoto Station, where the train was just pulling up. After finding the car, they boarded and placed their bags and instruments away safely. Renji took the window seat, setting his backpack underneath the seat in front after taking out his music player, headphones, and the first volume of Aikawa Love’s  _ Hell Verse. _

Then, much to Renji’s surprise, Byakuya took the aisle seat right next to him. “May I sit here?” he asked.

Renji nodded. “Sure, go ahead,” he said.

Ichigo and Chad sat together right behind them, and in front of them sat Hisagi and Hitsugaya. In the opposite aisle, right across from them, were Yoruichi and Kyoraku, while Ishida sat behind the both of them.

It wasn’t long before the train left the platform, speeding through Tokyo and passing by various places. For the first hour or so, Renji read his manga and listened to his favourite songs. He’d promised Hinamori that he’d read  _ Hell Verse  _ after hearing that she was cast as the heroine in the anime adaptation and how, according to her, the manga was absolutely amazing.

From the corner of his eye, Renji saw Byakuya writing in a journal while listening to music through earbuds. He had a look of intense concentration upon his face as he wrote, and Renji wondered just what he was writing about. He would’ve asked, but Byakuya looked like the kind of person who did not like being interrupted while working at all. So he kept quiet and decided to ask a bit later. So he returned to his manga and music as the scenery gradually began to change.

By the time they arrived at the inn in Yoshino, particularly the Naka Senbon area of the mountain, it was evening. After dinner, Renji had taken the opportunity to have a soak in the nearby onsen before going to bed, since they would have to be up early tomorrow for filming. Since Hisagi had gone to check out a few shops nearby, Renji had the room to himself. But eventually, he also decided to go on a walk, simply because of how nice the evening breeze was.

Having changed into fresh clothes, Renji stepped outside of the inn, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the feel of the cool breeze against his skin. The inn they were staying at was situated not too far from the Kuchiki Sansou, and the numerous sakura trees almost seemed to glow both pink and orange around them, making it a stunning sight to see.

It was nice to be able to walk around after sitting in trains for so long. Renji checked out some of the shops, wondering what he should get for Jinta and Ururu, the two kids of Urahara Kisuke. As it turned out, Urahara happened to live in the same apartment complex as Renji did, and he’d taken the opportunity to introduce Renji to his two kids. Since then, Renji often played futsal with them after school, having grown fond of them.

Renji entered a little shop that sold traditional goods, where he found Hisagi looking through a shelf of local sake.

Hisagi looked up at Renji. “Oh? What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Just thought I’d take a look around,” Renji said. “This place is beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Hisagi agreed. “It’s gonna be one pretty music video to make. And at the Kuchiki Sansou, to boot!” He placed the jug of sake back on the shelf before picking up another one. “Kuchiki-san, he’s really helping us out, isn’t he? First he lets us use his family’s home in Denenchofu, and now the villa out here. Why’s he doing all this?”

Renji shrugged. “Rukia told me that he likes to help out musicians in any way he can,” he said.

“Yeah, but I think it’s ‘cause he might be a little interested in you,” Hisagi said, his eyes glinting slightly.

“Wait, what?” Renji looked incredulous. “How would you know?”

“I mean, didn’t he buy you dinner?” Hisagi pointed out. “And I saw the way he looked at you during the ‘Black & White’ filming. Honestly, I think he was a little turned on.”

“You think so?” Renji asked.

“And besides, I’ve seen how you’ve been looking at him as of late,” Hisagi continued. “You’re into him, Renji.”

Renji blinked in surprise. “Okay, how the hell did you get there?”

“Don’t forget, I’m your senpai,” Hisagi reminded, smiling. “You sat with him during the trip here. Like, on all trains.”

“Oi, just ‘cause I sit next to a man on a train ride doesn’t mean that we’re dating!” Renji shook his head while lightly punching Hisagi’s shoulder. “Geez, if that was the case, Ichigo and Chad would already be a thing. Or you and Toshiro.”

“I’m just saying, I don’t blame you,” Hisagi said, his voice teasing. “I mean, Kuchiki-san is super pretty, ain’t he? Oh, don’t give me that look, Renji. I’m allowed to appreciate beauty when I see it.”

Renji just rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, now shut up, alright?” he mumbled.

After a while, they left the shop and walked back to the inn. By then, the sun had already set, and the night sky was slowly beginning to come in.

“So, how’s Kira doing right now?” Renji asked.

Hisagi sighed. “He’ll get there,” he said. “For now, he’s gone to a counsellor and he calls me whenever he wants to talk, even if it’s in the middle of the night. So long as he gets enough support, he’ll slowly get better.”

A look of guilt crossed his face and Renji patted his shoulder. “Don’t blame yourself,” he said. “It’s not like you knew that Ichimaru was doing that to him.”

“Yeah, but I should’ve suspected something, really,” Hisagi said morosely.

“Well, there’s no point in thinking about what could’ve been,” Renji said. “Just be there for him now and things will get better.”

That seemed to lighten the mood up as Hisagi smiled and joked, “Starting to sound like me, aren’t we?”

The conversation changed to other news about things happening in the whole music industry, not just in the Visual-Kei scene or in Senbonzakura Music.

“You heard of Dokugamine Riruka?” Hisagi asked. “You know, the idol singer famous for her ‘cute’ aesthetics?”

“Who hasn’t?” Renji asked. He’d seen photos of Riruka before and had heard stories from Orihime and Rukia about her. Apparently, the girl was obsessed with cute things, loved sweets, and had a thing for cutely-decorated boxes… oddly enough.

“Yeah, well, she made a new music video that’s gone viral,” Hisagi was saying. “I saw it on the train to Kyoto. It was so cute I got diabetes.”

Renji snorted. “Pretty sure that’s why Rukia loves her,” he said dryly. “After all, she  _ adores _ Chappy the Bunny.”

They both laughed before the conversation changed to discussing their upcoming photo shoots for different magazines. Hisagi’s photo shoot was for the May issue of  _ Rock & Read,  _ while Renji’s was for the June issue of  _ Cure.  _ Of course, Renji’s photo shoot was going to be showing off a good majority of his tattoos, much to Hisagi’s amusement.

“Everyone loves your ink, Renji,” he said, chuckling. “I dunno why you’re so surprised about it, your tattoos are awesome.”

Renji shrugged. “Probably because I’m still used to getting dirty looks,” he said. “And you? What’ve people said about yours?”

“Seems like only a few people know that Muguruma Kensei has this tattoo on his chest. Everyone else always thinks it’s sexual,” Hisagi said. “Okay, I didn’t know what the other meaning was until a few years ago, but still!”

“What did Muguruma-san say about it?”

“He wondered why the hell I got it on my face. But he did say that it looked good on me, so that’s something!”

Muguruma Kensei was one of the big names in the Visual-Kei scene, since he was one of the pioneers of the movement when it first emerged in the 80s. He was also Hisagi’s all-time favourite musician, and was making a comeback this year with an album release and a tour, for which Hisagi had already gotten tickets. Hearing Hisagi speaking so excitedly made Renji wonder when Zaraki Kenpachi would make his comeback. He hadn’t seen him perform live in a long time.

When they reached the inn, they headed straight for their room to get some sleep. After all, they would have to wake up early to get ready for filming tomorrow. Yoruichi had even warned them all, “If I don’t see your asses in the lobby by five-fifty tomorrow, I’m gonna give you an earful over the phone and it  _ won’t  _ be pretty”.

“You ever been yelled at over the phone by Yoruichi-san?” Renji asked.

“No, but I’ve heard that she’s kinda scary when she yells,” Hisagi said. “Yeah, I don’t want to see what she’s like when she’s angry.”

“Me either.” Renji pulled the sheets over him as he settled down on the futon. “Can’t wait to see the Kuchiki Sansou.”

“Yeah,” Hisagi agreed. “It’s probably gonna be beautiful.” With that, he turned off the lights.

* * *

The Kuchiki Sansou was beautiful. Covering around twenty thousand square meters, the shoin-zukuri villa included a large and beautiful garden, a spectacular view of Yoshino, and a study, a little temple, and a teahouse. Surrounded by sakura trees, the entire villa had a traditional, elegant charm and beauty.

Byakuya was showing them around the house, explaining the history behind it. “My grandfather was a popular Enka singer in Japan during the Taisho era,” he was saying. “After he married my grandmother, he commissioned a well-known architect to create this villa for the two of them to enjoy their married life together. I’ve made sure to have it restored when I had the chance, but I rarely come here. These days, I’ve kept it so that it can be used for artistic purposes.”

As they walked down the corridor, Renji admired the fusuma panels that were painted with scenes of mountains and sakura trees. The floors were all made of tatami and around the house was a bamboo engawa porch. They passed through one of the washitsu-style rooms and Renji noted the ikebana arrangement upon the tokonoma in the corner. Byakuya slid the shoji screen door open and guided them outside to the garden.

The gardens were beautiful. Lined with sakura trees, the garden had a pond full of koi, a wooden bridge arching over the stream that led to a willow tree on the other side. Near the main pond were bushes of camellias and azaleas, not too far from a rock composition upon sand. A lone plum blossom tree stood near the small waterfall, along with two toro lanterns. It was incredibly peaceful, the only other sound being the bamboo rocker of a shishi-odoshi hitting against a rock.

“This place is beautiful,” Renji said, admiring the view.

Byakuya glanced back at him. “Thank you,” he murmured.

Renji swore he saw his cheeks blush a little bit.

After the tour was done, it was time to set things up and get dressed for the video. While Kyoraku’s crew was setting up their equipment and the extras got ready, Renji and the others got dressed in one of the rooms in the house.

For this video, Renji’s outfit was a white tank top that showed off just the right amount of his chest tattoos, along with a black sleeveless thin cardigan made from silk. Hanging from his neck was a silver camellia pendant, while a small black choker was wrapped around his neck. Renji wore black arm guards on his forearms with two silver rings on the index and middle fingers of his right hand. With black skinny jeans and ankle boots, this look was much more classy, yet simple at the same time.

His hair had been styled in a half-up half-down style this time, while the makeup had been applied in its usual way with winged eyeliner. Renji had to admit, he looked really good.

“What do you think of the Kuchiki Sansou?” he asked, glancing at Ichigo.

Ichigo’s outfit consisted of a black off-shoulder long-sleeved shirt with two leather straps over his shoulders, and burgundy skinny jeans adorned with metal decorations and a spiked belt, along with black gothic ankle boots. His hair and makeup were kept the same as usual, and around his neck was a spiked collar.

“It’s really pretty,” Ichigo said, brushing some of his hair out of the way. “Kuchiki-san’s grandfather really picked a great spot to build the house, ‘cause this video is gonna be so gorgeous.”

“I know,” Hisagi agreed. “Imagine Hanami over here. That would be something, right?”

Hisagi was dressed in a white button-up dress shirt that bared a little bit of his chest with a velvet blazer over it. Along with black jeans and ankle boots, a silver chain hanging from his neck, and two silver rings on the middle and ring fingers of his right hand, Hisagi looked very elegant, a sharp contrast to his punk-like appearance. Like Renji and Ichigo, he had winged eyeliner upon his eyes while the rest of his makeup remained the same.

“Indeed, it’d be beautiful,” Ishida said as he adjusted Chad’s outfit. “You guys are pretty lucky that Kuchiki-san was feeling generous enough to let you use his family’s villa.”

Chad nodded. “Yeah,” he said.

Chad wore a gray silk tank top underneath a black leather blazer, along with black fingerless gloves upon his hands. Like Hisagi, he wore black jeans, except his had some stylish tears in the fabric, along with black boots, and like everyone else, his makeup remained the same.

Meanwhile, Hitsugaya wore a white button-up shirt with a black vest and a tie hanging loosely from the collar, along with black cuffed jeans and boots. Hanging from his earlobes were tiny silver earrings, and upon his hands were fingerless black gloves.

“But still, why did Kuchiki-san let us use it?” Hitsugaya asked. “Not that I’m complaining, but I’m pretty curious.”

Yoruichi smiled. “Who knows?” she said. “It’s impressive, though. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a CEO this involved in a musician’s career.”

While Renji didn’t say anything, he recalled his conversation with Rukia and remembered how she said that this was his way of reaching out and attempting to be friends. Renji then wondered just what he could do to reach back to him and return the favour when he remembered how Byakuya had promised to show his own songs to him. Perhaps he could help Byakuya out with his songwriting?

Before he could contemplate further, it was time to start filming.

Renji was positioned on Ichigo’s left side under a cluster of sakura trees. While the camera rolled, Renji played the chords of ‘Momoiro no Hana’ from memory while moving his body to the rhythm. As the music played from speakers off-set, several sakura petals began raining down upon them, a few of them getting caught in Renji’s hair.

After filming the band, it was time to film the members individually all over the villa. They would be filmed singing and playing their instruments in various parts of the garden, before being filmed while doing several traditional arts. Ichigo was filmed upon the wooden bridge, Renji under the plum blossom tree, Hisagi under the willow tree, Chad by the camellias, and Hitsugaya by the rock composition.

Then, Ichigo was filmed doing traditional calligraphy upon the engawa porch, while Renji was filmed doing ikebana in the main washitsu. Hisagi was filmed playing the shamisen in a study, Chad while doing Kodo, or the Way of Fragrance in another washitsu, and Hitsugaya while performing a tea ceremony in the tea house.

“And that’s a wrap for today!” Kyoraku announced. “Good job, everyone! You guys did great!” he was saying as everyone left for the day.

Once he’d washed off the makeup and changed into regular clothes, Renji approached the others. “You guys did pretty good,” he said.

“I didn’t know you did ikebana, Renji,” Ichigo said.

Renji laughed. “Believe me, I had no idea what to do,” he said. “I’ve never done ikebana before.”

“I’ve never done Kodo,” Chad pointed out.

“But still, it was really pretty,” Hisagi said. “I had fun.”

“Well, you still have more to do tomorrow, so you can look forward to it,” Yoruichi said, smiling. “Anyways, you guys are free to do whatever you want now. But try and come back to the inn on time.”

As they left, Renji noticed Byakuya approaching him. “Renji,” he said. “Walk with me for a bit?”

Renji nodded. “Sure, why not?” he said.

* * *

Byakuya had an idea. He was going to show Renji the songs he’d written himself today and see what Renji thought of them. This little trip had managed to help rekindle his creative side, and watching the filming of the music video had simply lit that spark. Indeed, the music video looked quite pretty and Byakuya had been inspired quite a bit, especially by the members doing traditional activities like calligraphy and ikebana.

But first…

“Do you like ikebana?” Byakuya asked casually.

“I’ve never done ikebana,” Renji said, shaking his head. “It was a little confusing, honestly.”

“I thought you did pretty good,” Byakuya said. “I can tell that it’ll be a visually stunning video.”

Renji nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “Your family’s villa is seriously beautiful.”

“Thank you. I’m glad you like it,” Byakuya said sincerely. “Hisana had filmed a music video in the villa as well, also with a bit of a traditional theme running through it.”

“Was she was doing ikebana in that video?” Renji asked.

“Not exactly,” Byakuya said. “Tea ceremony, more like.”

They walked towards the Kinpusenji temple, admiring the beauty around them. That was when Byakuya spoke.

“I should have you know, Renji,” he began. “I’ve been quite… inspired by recent events, which has helped me write quite a few songs.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a leather notebook. “These are the songs I’ve written. I… was wondering if you would like to look at them?”

Renji was surprised. “Wait… you serious?” he asked.

Byakuya nodded. “Yes,” he said. “It’s been a while since I’ve written a song and some feedback would be much appreciated.”

Renji smiled. “Sure,” he said, taking the notebook.

Opening it up, Renji read through the lyrics on the first page. It was a love song, all about wanting to love someone but being scared. The lyrics were beautifully honest and sincere, and Renji liked how pure the emotions were. He could definitely relate to the feeling of pining. He glanced at the header of the page, noting the song’s title: ‘Sen no Yoru wo Koete’, or ‘Passing over the Thousandth Night’.

Reading through Byakuya’s lyrics, Renji observed how they were rather soulful and gentle, often with a motif of spring and flowers in them. One of them, however, was about playing music and surviving despite the darkness of the world, and Renji found himself liking those lyrics the most. He had to wonder, just how would they sound with music? Really good, most likely.

“These are pretty good,” Renji said sincerely, getting Byakuya’s attention. “You’re pretty passionate about spring and the night, aren’t you?”

Byakuya averted his eyes in mild embarrassment. “And if I am?”

“I’m just saying, I like how you’ve worked in those themes,” he said. “But I really like this one: ‘Kanade Aragai Kou’. The lyrics… I can really relate to them.”

Byakuya seemed to perk up a little. “You like them?” he asked, sounding almost hopeful.

Renji didn’t know why, but his heart almost hurt at the childlike hope in Byakuya’s voice. And at the same time, he saw a bit of worry in Byakuya’s eyes. He couldn’t help but wonder: did this happen to Byakuya a lot? Showing his lyrics to his family, only to be shot down every time? Was he scolded for wanting to write songs? Renji didn’t know, and he knew that he shouldn’t ask.

Instead, he gave Byakuya a smile. “I like them,” he said. “And I’d like to hear how they’d sound.”

Again, Byakuya’s eyes brightened slightly. “I wouldn’t mind playing them for you, I suppose,” he said. “Maybe once we go back to Karakura, I’ll invite you over. I worked really hard on these songs, and I hope they’ll please you.”

The tiniest of smiles seemed to tug at Byakuya’s lips and Renji couldn’t help but find Byakuya so… cute. Seeing him looking rather excited at the prospect of an audience for his songs was quite endearing.

Renji smiled. “Sure thing,” he said. “I can’t wait.”

Though Byakuya didn’t show much of it, he was absolutely thrilled. It had been so long since he’d even written a song and hearing how Renji liked his lyrics filled him with a childish joy. It was almost no different from when Hisana had praised his songwriting skills. This time, there was something else, but Byakuya couldn’t put his finger on it.

All he knew was that he looked forward to playing his songs for Renji in the coming days.

**Author's Note:**

> 'Sen no Yoru wo Koete' is the ending theme of the first Bleach movie "Memories of Nobody". It was also used in the Bleach Concept Covers where it was sung as a duet by Byakuya and Renji (their voice actors, Okiayu Ryotaro and Itou Kentarou, respectively). And yes, the Byakuya-Renji duet version is amazing.
> 
> As for how I imagine 'Momoiro no Hana' to sound, here's the link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ko2DL2WYfU). You should read the lyrics as well, since this song could totally be the theme of Junko's ByaRen saga.
> 
> A lot of Byakuya's songs will be based on the songs that Okiayu Ryotaro has sung, not just for Bleach, but for other anime/video games as well. And these will include Byakuya's character songs from Bleach Beats and Bleach Breathless.
> 
> Let me know how I did :) Have a good one!


End file.
